Agricultural vehicle with articulately connected frame sections



Jan. 2, 1951 N. F. ANDREWS AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE wrm ARTICULATELY CONNECTED FRAME SECTIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 Filed Nov. 13, 1947 Norman F'Arzafrws Jan. 2, 1951 N. F. ANDREWS AGRICULTURAL EHICLE WITH ARTICULATELY commcmn mum SECTIONS Fil ed Nov. 13, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 2, 1951 AGRICULTURAL VFHICLE WITH AR'I ICU- LATELY CONNECTED FRAME SECTIONS Norman F. Andrews. Moline, 11]., assignor to Deere & Company, Moline, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application November 13, 1947, Serial No. 785,703

This invention relates to a new and improved vehicle especially adapted for agricultural purposes and is principally designed from the standpoint of providing a flexible frame to which may be attached or on which may be carried a variety of agricultural implements, and particularly implements or machines of the harvester type.

In the past a great deal of design effort has been centered on providing agricultural implements especially adapted for attachment to or mounting on tractors of existing types. In many cases the program has been eminently successin], the only disadvantage being that in many cases the use of a particular implement with a tractor is tantamount'to withdrawing the tractor from use for other purposes because of the difficulty with which the implement is dismounted therefrom. In some instances the complicated nature of the implement or the means for attaching the same to or mounting the same on the tractor virtually prevents convenient disassembly of the two units, in which case the owner of the tractor and implement is compelled to provide himself with an additional tractor, obviously at considerable additional expense. In other instances the special design of the implement to adapt the same for attachment to or mounting on the tractor detracts somewhat from the efficient operation of the machine as a unit and the inefficiency must be disregarded as compensated for by the desirability of operation of the tractor and implement as a unit.

According to the present invention, it is an important object to provide an inexpensive vehicle frame which'will take the place of a tractor for carrying implements. To this end, many of the expensive design features of a tractor may be eliminated and the frame of the vehicle may take the form of a relatively simple frame structure including a power plant for propelling the same and for driving the moving parts of any agriculture machine that is attached thereto or mounted thereon.

Another object of the invention relates to the provision of a vehicle frame structure in which a structural part of the frame also serves as means for carrying an agricultural implement or machine. in one form of the invention, that the structural members serve also to carry or enclose driving means for the traction wheels of the vehicle. An important feature of the invention is to provide a frame that is flexible for the purpose of accommodating vertical movement of the frame components relative to each other as the wheels 4 Claims. (Cl. 280-111) follow varying ground contour.

In another aspect, the invention involves the mounting of a power plant and operators station on the frame in such manner as to accommodate flexing of the frame components. I Other important objects and desirable feature of the invention will become apparent as the disclosure of the preferred form thereof is completely made in the following detailed description, taken in coniunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of thevehicle, shown in conjunction with a harvester of the corn picker type;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the same,

the right hand rear wheel of the vehicle having been removed to more clearly illustrate the structural components; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view on anenlarged scale showing the mounting of the frame components in connection with the transverse member of one of the vehicle frame sections.

For the purposes of clarity and brevity the vehicle will be described as being composed of a pair of articulately connected frame sections The first frame section is designated generally by the numeral l0 and is shown as comprising a transverse member carried at its opposite ends on traction wheels II and I2, respectively. The,

second frame section is designated by the numeral l3 and is here illustrated as being of U-shaped,

. the components forming the elements of the U;

In this respect it ,is also contemplated,

the transverse or bight portion of the U being formed by a transverse frame com onent or member H and the legs of the U being provided by fore and aft extending left and right hand frame members I 5 and I6, respectively. The forward end of the frame member I5 is carried for travel over the ground by means including a steerablewheel l1 and the forward end of the right hand member i6 is similarly carried by a steerable wheel l8. The frame sections l0 and I3 are connected in load-supporting relation and for relative articulation by means of a longitudinal connection, indicated generally by the numeral 19. The vehicle is propelled by means of a power plant, indicated generally by the numeral 20, carried on the second frame section l3 behind an operators station 2| which is likewise carried on the second frame section.

The transverse member ll of the U frame section l3, in addition to forming a structural component of'the frame l3, serves also as means for carrying an agricultural implement. The present disclosure is based upon theme of the 'vehicle in connection with a four-row corn picker having picker units 22, 23, 24 and 25; although,-

' it will be appreciated that the vehicle is adapted to a wide variety of implements. Hence, the disclosure should be taken as illustrative and not limiting. The picker units further include, as is conventional, rearwardly and upwardly inclining elevators 26, 21, 28 and 29 which deliver picked corn'to a transverse hopper 38 in which is located a transversely operating auger 3| which functions to convey corn to a central point in the hopper adjacent the receiving end of a rearwardly and upwardly inclining wagon elevator 32.

The transverse member I of the first frame sectionjs in the form of a transverse axle structure carrying rigidly intermediate its ends a differential gear casing 35 within which may be located the usual differential gear (not shown). The differential gearing is associated in the conventional manner with-a bevel ring gear 36 (Figure 3) and further with a pair of oppositely extending drive axles 31 and 38 for delivering powerto the traction wheels I I' and I2, respectively (Figure 1).

The differential gear casing 35 is located rear- "wardly of a longitudinally aligned change-speed includes a forwardly extending shaft which has keyed thereto a driving pulley 52. The shaft it extends still further forwardly and includes a portion 53 providing a bearing for a purpose to presently appear.

The U-shaped structure of the frame section I3 is, as aforesaid, made up of the transverse member I4 and the opposite side members I5 and I6. The members I5 and I6 are respectively rigidly secured, as by welding, to opposte end portions of the transverse member I4. These members are further braced by triangular gusset plat s 55 and an intermediate portion of the longitudinal tubular member 69. The upper portion of the member 82 is provided as a split bearing 6'! which receives the bearing portion 49 between the housings and 45. The lower portion of the rear supporting member" 6I' is preferably removably carried by the longitudinal member 58 and'extends upwardly from the member 59 to a point level with the upper end of the forward supportingmember 63. An intermediate portion of the rear supporting member 6| is provided with a bearing 68 which receives the rear bearing 58 on the differential gear casing 35. The structure just described is included in the connection I9 and provides means whereby the frame section I3 is articulately connected to the frame section Ill on a longitudinal pivot axis, so that the frame section I3 may have relative movement about this axis with respect to the axle structure Ii. The longitudinally spaced bearings 5||68, 49-6|, and 53-65 increase the stability of the connection by preventing twisting of the frame section I3 about an axis through the axle structure III.

Further rigidity is imparted to the frame section In by means of a-pair of diagonal braces 18 and II which extend inwardly and rearwardly respectively from the side members I5 and I6 and converge toward and are rigidly secured to the longitudinal tubular member 59 between the supporting members 6| and 62. The diagonal braces are preferably secured to the parts mentioned by welding; although, any other suitable securing means may be utilized. The diagonal braces are further secured to the transverse member I4, the

56. The transverse member I4 is provided intermediate its ends with a pair of transversely spaced depending plates 51 rigidly secured at their lower ends, as by welding at 58, to a longitudinally extending member 59 preferably of tubular construction. The upper end portions of the plates 51 are perforated to provide for passage therethrough of the transverse member I4 and are welded, as -at.68, to the transverse member. The member 59 thus becomes an integral rigid part 0 the frame section I3.

As best shown in Figure 3, the frame member 59 extends rearwardly below the axle structure I8 and below the transmission housing and is provided with a plurality of upwardly extending supports 6|, 62 and 63. The support 63 is rigidly secured, preferably by welding at 64, to a forward portion of the member 59, and extends upwardly to a level somewhat above the upper level of the rear axle structure I6 and transmission housing 45. The member 63 is provided intermediate its ends with a bearing 65 which receives the forward extension 53 of the transmission input ,shaft 5|. The member 62 is welded at 66 to brace 18 being secured to the member I4 by a pair of depending plates I2 and the brace II being secured to the member I4 by means of a pair of depending plates 13 (Figure 1).

The transmission housing 45 is additionally braced with respect to the transverse axle structure III by a pair of diagonal braces I5 (Figures 1 and 2). In the case of each frame section, considerable care has been directed to the provision of simplified frame structure that is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture, yet that is sturdy and long-lived in use.

The upper ends of the supporting members GI and 63 serve as means by which the frame section I3 carries superstructure, part of which is the power plant 28 and another part of which is the operators station 2|. For this purpose there is mounted on the upper ends of the members 6| and 63 a pair of longitudinally extending frame members 88 (only one of which appears in the drawings), each in the form of an outwardly facing channel. These channels serve to carry the power plant 28 directly thereon, thus supporting the power plant 29 on the frame section I3 wholly independently of any support on the axle structure Iii. Consequently, vertical movement of the axle structure It as the wheels II or I2 encounter varying ground contour will not cause any movement of the power plant. The supporting members 6| and 83, by means of the frame members 80, serve to carry the additional part of the superstructure represented by the operator's station 2|. To this end the forward end portions of the members 86 are provided with vertically extending supporting members 8| which project upwardly to a level somewhat above the general level of the forward portion of the picker units 22, 23, 24 and 25. The members 8| suitably support the rear end of a longitudinally forwardly extending platform 82, the forward end of which is braced to the members 89 by a pair of rearwardly extending braces 83 (only one of which is shown in the drawings) In the present disclosure the platform 82 is shown as carrying at its rear end an operator's seat 84 ahead of which is located a steering wheel 85 having a short forwardly extending shaft 85 appropriately connected to a vertical steering shaft 81. An appropriate guard rail 88 is provided at the forward portion of the platform 82.

The lower end of the steering shaft 81 projects below a forward portion of the platform 82 and has keyed thereto a transversely extending steering arm 88. The arm 88 is connected by a rearwardly extending steering link 88 to suitable meansfor rocking a vertical shaft 8| This shaft may be journaled at its upper end in a bearing 82 carried by one of the members 8| and may be further .iournaled at its lower end in an appropriate bearing (not shown) on the transverse member I4. The lower end-of the shaft 8| has keyed thereto a forwardly extending arm 83 (Figure 2) which is connected to a transverse tie rod 94 (Figure 1). The tie rod projects at its left hand end and is connected thereat' to a bell crank 85. The bell crank is connected by a longitudinally ext nding link 98 to a st ering arm 81 carried at the upper end of a spindle 88 which includes a stub axle 88 for ,iournaling the l ft hand steerable wheel IT. The ri ht hand end of the tie rod 94 is connected to a bell crank I88 which is in turn connected bv a link ml to a steering arm I82 at the upper end of a spindle I83 which has a short stub axle I84 for .iournaling the right hand steerable wheel I8. The steering mechanism illustrated is representative of several ty es of mechanisms that may be emnloved and it is not intended t at the invention be limited by the disclosure in this re ect. The v hicle is propelled by means of a driving connection between the power plant 28 and the traction heels I and I2. This driving conn ction includes the differential gea ing -48 and t e transmission gearing 45. The forward end of the power plant 28 mission shaft 41, there will be no int rference.

with the drive connection between the power plant and transmission because of such relative movement: that is to say, such relative movement will not affect the length of the driving belt H2.

The power plant 28 also provid s a source of power for driving movable parts of the implement. In this case such movable parts are a plurality of snapping rolls, for example, a representation of which app ars at I I5 in Figure 2, it being under'stood that each of the other units 22, 23 and 24 is likewise equipped with such pair of snapping rolls. The upper ends'of each pair of snapping rolls II5 are geared together at II6 so thatthey rotate in opposite directions, as is conventional.

One of the gears is connected by a rearwardly extending shaft II! and universal joint II8 to a horizontal, longitudinally extending shaft H8. The shaft II8 may be suitably carried by bearings on the superstructure, the details of which are not illustrated. The driving shaft II8 of the power plant 28 extends forwardly below the operator's station 2| and has keyed thereto a pair of driving sprockets I2I and I22. The sprocket I 2I is connected by a driving chain I23 to a sprocket I24 which'is keyed to a longitudinally extending shaft I25 spaced laterally to the right of and paralleling the power plant shaft H8. The shaft I25 extends rearwardly and carries at its extreme rear end for rotation therewith a driving sprocket I28. This sprocket is in lateral alignment with a similar sprocket I21 keyed to the rear end of the shaft I I9 (Figure 1) and the two sprockets are drivingly interconnected by a driving chain I28. Power from the power plant is thus transmitted through the shaft 8 to the sprocket I2I, then through the chain I23 to the sprocket I28, and by means of the shaft I25, sprocket I26, chain I28 and sprocket I21 to the sha t U8. and thence to the snapping rolls H5.

The shaft I25 extends forwardly of the sprocket I24 and is provided with a universal joint connected to a forwardly extending shaft I28 (Figure 1)-. The shaft I29 may be connected to a pair of geared snapping rolls (not shown) similar to the snapping rolls I I5 and provided for the picker unit 24.

Similar snapping roll driving mechanism may be provided for the picker units 22 and 23. Although the snapping rolls for these units have been omitted from the drawings, there are shown two shafts I35 and I38 which correspond in function to the shafts Ill and I29. The shaft I36 is connected by a universal joint to a shaft I 31 which includes a first sprocket and chain connection I38 to the second sprocket I22 on the power shaft I I8 and a second sprocket and chain connection I38 to the shaft I35.

The driving means illustrated and described are merely representative of many that could be employed, it being understood that several types of implements could be mounted on the transverse member I4. The feature of the invention in this respect is that the power plant includes the power take-off means, in the form of the sprockets I2I and I22, for driving rotatable or other movable parts of implements carried by the vehicle. Any conventional drive mechanism may be employed, for example, for driving the transverse auger 3I and wagon elevator 32. Since the construction in this respect is a matter of choice, details have not been illustrated or described.

It is entirely feasible that implements carried by the'implement-supporting member I4 be of conventional or standard construction. The illustration of the corn picker in the present case has been made with this point in mind. As is conventional, a picker of this type is mounted for vertical floating movement with respect to the vehicle frame on which it is carried. To this end the picker is shown as including a plurality of rearwardly and upwardly extending frame bars I48, a single representation of which is illustrated in Figure 2. The frame bars may be connected at their rearward ends to. the transverse support I4 by means providing for relative vertical movement of the frame bars about the transverse axis of the member I4. For this purpose the member I4 may be provided with a plurality of transversely spaced apart sleeves I to which the rear ends of the bars I48 may be connected. Again, the illustration in this respect is only illustrative and has not been carried out in great detail. Inasmuch as the picker is mounted for vertical movement about the axis of the member I4, means may be provided for raising and lowering the picker. This means is here illustrated as comprising a hand lever I45 carried by the operator's platform 82 ahead of the seat II and including a pulley and cable connection I to a transverse support 1 associated with the picker units 22, 23, 24 and 26. Raising and lowering of the picker units may be accomplishedsimultaneously under control of the operator by means of the hand lever I.

It is. characteristic of the preferred example of the invention illustrated herein that the entire implement is carried independently of the rear axle structure It. The picker units 22, 23, 24 and 25 are carried by the transverse member 14-. The rear part of the picker or implement, represented by the transverse hopper 30 andwagon elevator 32, is carried by the superstructure including the members 6!, 80 and 63. The construction in this respect permits comparatively wide freedom of movement between the frame sections In and I3. Likewise, the operator's station and power plant are carried by the superstructure independently of any support on the transverse axle it.

Other features and advantages of the invention will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art, as will numerous modifications and alterations in the preferred form of the invention illustrated. It is therefore not desired to limit the invention by theprecise details disclosed.

I claim:

1. A vehicle frame structure having front and rear ends, comprising: a rear frame section including a transverse member of rigid construction having opposite end portions adapted to be wheel-supported; a front frame section of generally U-shaped. rigid construction made up of a transverse member forming the bight of the U and a pair of transversely spaced apart, longitudinal members, said front section being arranged wholly ahead of the rear-section transverse member with the two transverse members generally in parallelism and in a substantially horizontal plane, and with the longitudinal members extending forwardly generally in said horizontal plane and having forward end portions tudinal support connecting the two transverse members and providing a pivot on a longitudinal axis intermediate the opposite end portions of the rear-section transverse member; and means including a'pair of forwardly diverging braces having rear end portions connected to the longitudinal support and front end portions connected respectively to the longitudinal members of the front frame sections.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that: each brace crosses and is connected to the transverse member of the front frame section so that said braces respectively brace the corners of the U provided at the Junetion of the front-frame-section transverse and longitudinal members.

3.-The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that: the longitudinal support extends rearwardly below the rear-section transverse member and is connected thereto by vertical supports spaced respectively behind and ahead of said rear-section transverse member.

4. The invention defined in claim 1, further characterized in that: the forwardly diverging braces form, with the front-frame-section trans-,

verse member, a generally triangular space ahead of the rear-section transverse member; and the longitudinal support is offset below both transverse members and below said space.

NORMAN F. ANDREWS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,378,615 Brown June 19, 1945 

